The present invention relates in general to pest control systems and in particular to a modular pest control systems for controlling one or more species of pests.
A variety of systems have been produced for controlling pest populations in and around residential and commercial structures. Included among the many pests typically targeted by such systems are crawling insects, flying insects, millipedes, centipedes, slugs, crickets, grasshoppers, termites and rodents. Many involve the use of repellents or baits which may be fatal to certain species of insect pests or rodent pests, for example. Beyond the use of known attractants such as desirable baits (e.g., foods or pheromones), existing pest control system designs generally do not demonstrate thoughtful cognizance of and do not capitalize on pest behavior and/or physiology in order to render the systems particularly attractive and, therefore, especially lethal to the pests they are intended to control. With baits functioning essentially as the sole attractant, the success of these systems depends in great measure upon their placement and accessibility. Hence, if the system is not disposed, often serendipitously, relatively close to the target pest population or is not constructed for ready access by the pests, the effectiveness of the system may be considerably less than desired.
Moreover, other than pheromone or specific food bait designs, existing pest control systems rather indiscriminately attract and harm all species of pests, including desirable and undesirable species, that happen upon the traps and are capable of accessing the bait. And it is not believed that any existing systems can be initially configured to accommodate one or more species of pests and then reconfigured to exclude certain of those species from all or a portion of the trap. Additionally, existing systems are not constructed such that one portion of the system is dedicated to the control of one species of pest, e.g., ants, and other portion(s) of the system are dedicated to the control of other species of pests, e.g., termites, rodents, etc.
Still further, existing systems have essentially immutable constructions. That is, they are not modular and cannot be assembled and installed at a desired location to achieve highly selective species control, e.g., above ground ant control coupled with below ground termite control, above ground rodent control coupled with below ground termite control, above ground ant and/or rodent control coupled with above or below ground termite control, or the like.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,042,192 and 5,148,626, for example, disclose above ground, upright, shaft-like supports for foodstuffs, furniture and pet feeding bowls, among other things, which incorporate an insect repellant barrier for preventing crawling insects from reaching the top of the supports. To further frustrate invasion by crawling insects, the shafts of the supports are disclosed as being preferably formed of slick material for hindering the insects from obtaining firm footing thereon. Devices such as these are site-specific deterrents to certain species of insects but are essentially ineffective for insect or other pest control.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,303,599 describes various embodiments of insect traps which can be either mounted on a stake or garbage can cover or suspended from a support such as a tree, rail, rafter or the like. The trap includes, inter alia, a water container and wicking means for conveying water from the water container to poison contained in another area of the trap in order to keep the poison moist. The trap is provided with no structure which renders it especially inviting to particular species of pests and is not equipped with structure for selectively targeting certain species for pest control.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,695,776 discloses an above or below ground termite trap including grooved wooden termite baits impregnated with poison.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,825,996, 2,893,160 and 4,065,872 disclose insecticide containers supported by corrugated stakes which are insertable into the ground or mountable to a support structure such as a wall or the like. Among their ascribed functions, the stake corrugations are provided to permit insects to gain access to the insecticide containers. Of these patents, U.S. Pat. No. 2,893,160 further comprises a child/pet shield for covering the insecticide container. The shield includes a roughened outer surface created by a plurality of apertures which are punched through the shield. The patent asserts, without explanation, that ants and other insects are attracted to the unit since numerous insects like to crawl in and about roughened apertured surfaces.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,485,582 describes an insect feeding station including a cover permanently affixed to a base which supports a poisonous bait compartment. The base may include a tubular extension which may be thrust into the earth. Insects may enter the bait compartment through the tubular extension and openings provided in the cover. The station provides no structure for encouraging insects to be drawn thereto. It also has no means for restricting access to the bait to certain species nor it is modular to permit selective configuration and reconfiguration to target desired species.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,427,743 provides a circular insect bait dispenser which is secured to the ground by a stake. The dispenser includes an inverted bowl-shaped, circular cover which is releasably connected to a circular base. The base may include several compartments which may accommodate several different types of bait for different insects or different types of bait for the same insect. Like the bait station disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,485,582, the dispenser has no structure especially designed to attract insects. It also has no means for restricting access to the bait to certain species. And, it is not modular and therefore, cannot be configured in one way to control certain species of pests and then reconfigured to target other desired species.
A need exists, therefore, for a pest control system which includes structure specifically designed to capitalize upon the physiology and/or behavior or pests to render the system more attractive to the pests.
A further need exists for a pest control system which is modular in nature to permit the system to be configured and reconfigured to selectively target any combination of one or more species of pests.
A further advantage exists for a pest control system including means for restricting access to all or a portion of the baited areas of the system to selected species of pests.
The present invention provides a modular pest control system which includes structure that is specifically designed to capitalize upon the physiology and/or behavior of a wide assortment of pests to render the system more attractive to the pests. The system is modular in nature whereby it may be configured as desired or necessary to target any combination of one or more species of pests.
The modular system preferably includes, at minimum, a first component in the form of a pest control device that may be releasably connectable to a second component. The first component may contain one or more materials or structural features for controlling any individual species or combinations of species of ground crawling pests, termites and rodents.
The second component may be a releasable base for securing the first component to vegetation, building surfaces and materials, or targeted areas of soil. Alternatively, the second component itself may be a pest control device that may be releasably connectable to the first component and which anchors the first component to the earth.
Each of the components also preferably includes numerous additional structural features, which further enhance the performance of the system.
Other details, objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent as the following description of the presently preferred embodiments and presently preferred methods of practicing the invention proceeds.